Unless they live and work on both sides of the Mississippi River, few St. Louisans and residents of the Metro East frequent both locales. That posture also exists in the music scene, despite both regions having a rich music history and an abundance of talented artists.
Rapper and music producer Anthony Lucius has witnessed this divide for as long as he can remember. After making music in Missouri and his home state of Illinois, he decided to produce an album that would bring beloved and emerging musicians together for one project. In July, Lucius released “Skwäd Goals Vol. 1,” featuring St. Louis rappers such as Jerei, Brock Seals and Phonzz, as well as Metro East artists RT-FAQ and StiXx. He told St. Louis on the Air that he was inspired by fellow musician and convener Mvstermind.
“Seeing everything that [Mvstermind] does in the city put that battery in my back,” he said. “I see everything that he does as far as helping out the community. And most of these artists are my friends, so why not bring us together? I feel like we have different sounds, and I think that's what helps bring it together.”
The first track and single from the album, “Good Morning,” is a collaboration between Lucius and St. Louis’ Oso Valley. The two had not written or produced music before this project, giving deeper credence to the purpose of “Skwäd Goals Vol. 1.”
“We have mutual friends, so I just reached out to [Oso Valley]. I said, ‘Hey, I like what you're doing. I got this song that I think we'd be great on,’” he said. “The approach to it was a little different. If you listen to the song, we're going back and forth, and you would think that we had this relationship. It sounds so cohesive, but it was just made on the fly and we got lucky.”
Lucius said “Blessings” fulfilled his wish of having at least one song that “represented the 618” and the friendships he’s made through music in St. Louis and East St. Louis.
“You got me from the east side, and then you have [StixX]. He's from Belleville. He's also a football coach at Belleville East. And RT-FaQ is from the east side as well,” he said. “RT-FAQ was actually my first drummer. I saw him at a Mike Judy show and I asked him if he could drum for me. That’s how we kicked off our relationship, and ever since then he’s been a mentor and a big brother to me.”
The next volume of “Skwäd Goals” is already being planned. While Vol. 1 is predominantly hip-hop, Lucius said he’s open to all genres for future iterations.
“I'm just looking for new talent in the East St. Louis [and] St. Louis area. That will be Vol. 2, where I can try to find new people, maybe outside of my circle, and tap in with them,” Lucius said. “I'm going to try to keep this going as long as I can, and hopefully it grows, and grows and grows.”
For more with Anthony Lucius, including a behind-the-scenes look at the production of “The Urge” with R&B singer Rachel Bouzier, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
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